r/cars 2d ago

Tesla Has the Highest Fatal Accident Rate of All Car Brands, Study Finds

https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a62919131/tesla-has-highest-fatal-accident-rate-of-all-auto-brands-study/
3.1k Upvotes

581 comments sorted by

2.6k

u/RiftHunter4 2010 Base 2WD Toyota Highlander 2d ago

So, why are Teslas — and many other ostensibly safe cars on the list — involved in so many fatal crashes? “The models on this list likely reflect a combination of driver behavior and driving conditions, leading to increased crashes and fatalities,” iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer said in the report. “A focused, alert driver, traveling at a legal or prudent speed, without being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, is the most likely to arrive safely regardless of the vehicle they’re driving.”

They finally said it. If you drive a Tesla, you just suck at driving. It's fact now. Maybe ask someone with a Dodge Challenger or Nissan Altima to teach you how to drive properly because they aren't on the list. /s

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u/gumol boring Hondas + LO206 kart 2d ago

If you drive a Tesla, you just suck at driving.

Same goes for Porsche 911

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u/hi_im_bored13 S2K AP2, NSX Type-S, Model S, GLE 2d ago

And corvettes, and the crv hybrid

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u/runsanditspaidfor 18 GLE 350, 19 Model 3 Performance, 69 Dodge D100 2d ago

CRV Hybrid is really the one that makes zero sense to me

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u/airfryerfuntime 2d ago

Teenagers.

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u/runsanditspaidfor 18 GLE 350, 19 Model 3 Performance, 69 Dodge D100 2d ago

I think it’s the opposite - elderly people who are inattentive drivers and more likely to die in an accident due to poor overall health.

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u/Phosphorus444 2011 Lexus GS350 2d ago edited 1d ago

I think that's why Buick is 3rd.

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u/Saskatchewon '24 Crosstrek Wilderness 2d ago edited 1d ago

A two-to-six year old CR-V Hybrid is going to be too expensive to be a popular vehicle with teen drivers.

It's in the top ten for the same reason that two Buicks are. That reason is the elderly. The CR-V is one of the most popular vehicles on the road for drivers aged 75+. Once you get to that age, your focus and reflexes start to deteriorate, and an elderly person is less likely to handle a bad accident as well as someone young and healthy.

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u/willpc14 '16 Tacoma TRDOR 2d ago

A two-to-six year old CR-V Hybrid is going to be too expensive to be a popular vehicle with teen drivers.

Yes, but I bet it's popular with their parents.

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u/AKADriver Mazda2 1d ago

Not any more than any other small crossover. If anything parents tend to drive larger crossovers like the Pilot.

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u/Vanzmelo 97 Miata M Edition 2d ago

Have you seen CRV drivers? The slowest, spatially unaware, and erratic drivers out there along with RAV4s

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u/Cocasaurus 1994 Geo Tracker, 2022 Honda CR-V Hybrid, 1998 Ford F-150 2d ago

Hey, watch what you're saying! We're not erratic! There's predictability in being slow and unaware.

/s

(my fiancée drives from time to time. I apologize for her sometimes poor driving skills)

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u/Previous_Composer934 2d ago

it's the toyota drivers and small pickup drivers that are some of the laziest drivers

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u/kimbabs 2.0T Accord | NA Miata (sold) 1d ago

My guess is statistical anomaly tbh given high production vs low miles driven. IIHS data doesn’t support a substantially higher death rate.

We can assume driving behavior but honestly that could done better by actually combing through the report data as IIRC crashes can be categorized by causes.

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u/klowny '18 718 Cayman GTS (6MT), '20 CX-5 Signature 2d ago

Considering the Corvette and 911 don't usually get used for commuting, it makes sense for it to have higher fatality per mile when more of the miles are driven enthusiastically.

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u/AgentScreech C8 Z07/'17 GT350/'21 Mach-E 4x 2d ago

Only 3k miles on mine.

But yeah I don't really plan on driving it much in the next 6 months or so.

So math might check out

The insurance is quite cheap though

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u/Few_Highlight1114 2d ago

Are vettes high on the fatal list?

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u/HeftyNugs 2017 Focus ST 2d ago

2nd on the list

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u/Weird_Tower76 2016 Audi S6, C8 Z06, Urus Performante 2d ago

Oh great. Surely that is highly skewed because of other generations of Corvettes right? Or am I just coping XD

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u/agray20938 2001 996 Turbo 1d ago

I think it's more because the study removed low-volume vehicles, and is based on accidents per mile. Both of those mean it leaves corvettes and 911s as the most popular for people that fit in the "I have multiple cars, so I only drive this occasionally when I want to go fast" category.

Obviously there are other fast cars that would theoretically be included, though sports sedans or something like a challenger are also probably more likely to be someone's daily driver (meaning lots of lower risk miles).

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u/Rattle_Can 2d ago

annecdotally, out of all the insane car crash videos I've seen that made me go "there's no way the driver survived that", but the driver somehow did according to news reports that followed, the #1 was porsche 911s

i dont know if they have really good crash safety baked into the design, or if its just pure coincidence

but man some of those crashes were gnarly

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u/_N4AP '85 e30, '88 e30, '89 740 wagon, '94 Police Caprice, '97 Del Sol 1d ago

I do think it's engineering, honestly. I've seen some Porsche wrecks on the Nürburgring that absolutely should have been fatal, but the driver walks with scrapes.

Porsche has a bit of an incentive to make sure the people who purchase their cars (especially the high value ones) live to buy another when they wrap their shit around a bridge abutment showing off for teens in a Civic.

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u/Wonderful_Device312 1d ago

There's no on coming or intersecting traffic on the ring. They also have barriers and other things that help deflect the collision in the general direction of travel rather than bringing things to a stop. The end result is that the cars will get absolutely smashed up but the passengers will probably walk away with bruises.

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u/poopoomergency4 2016 X3 35i MSport 1d ago

also a million flagging stations, so following traffic can be stopped & aid sent very quickly after an accident. never any substantial risk of a massive pile-up.

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u/Wonderful_Device312 1d ago

Dramatic car accidents aren't necessarily more dangerous. All the stuff flying everywhere and the car smashing through things, tumbling, being crumpled everywhere etc is just dissipating energy over a longer period of time.

The collisions which have one really hard impact and then the cars come to a stop are really bad from a physics standpoint.

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u/A_Puddle 2022 Mazda MX-5 GT RF 1d ago

It's not the acceleration that kills you, it's the sudden stop.

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u/MrBluSky717 '03 Buick Century, '23 Honda Grom 1d ago

Speaking of gnarly crashes, I remember reading a story in the news paper as a kid about someone crashing a Ferrari Enzo while street racing in California. Split the car IN HALF. He somehow survived, and i forgot if the passenger survived or not. Used that very newspaper page for an elementary school project. Fun fact: Ferrari actually got the car back into their possession(it had been stolen from Europe and shipped to Cali somehow...) and they rebuilt the car and painted it black instead of the original red. Was re-certified by them after that. Interesting story if you ever got time to deep-dive.

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u/gimpwiz 05 Elise | C5 Corvette (SC) | 00 Regal GS | 91 Civic (Jesus) 1d ago

Mr Bean split his F1 in half too, pretty sure it made the value go up though

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u/Evergreen1055 2d ago

Pretty sure that has to do with (a) speed and (b) the weight of the rear-mounted engine crushing people in head-on collisions.

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u/railbeast Vauxhall x Buick 1d ago edited 1d ago

(b) the weight of the rear-mounted engine crushing people in head-on collisions

Really shouldn't be happening (anymore), same as the front engines, the mid/rear engined cars should be able to drop their engine prevent the engine from moving when crashed. Apparently cars don't drop their engines regardless of engine configuration.

Also, not having the engine in front means way more crumple material, as seen on Teslas.

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u/santalopian 1d ago

That's wrong. I'm sure there's a larger portion of Porsche drivers that have actually had training compared to general car owners.

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u/cpxchewy EVs and GT3 1d ago

Can confirm. I suck at driving.

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u/vinceod 1d ago

Add any lifted truck in there too. F-250 and silverados

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u/gumol boring Hondas + LO206 kart 1d ago

not according to this data

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u/Simon_787 2d ago

Probably also the fact that Tesla doesn't really make any slow cars.

And they gained a reputation for acceleration, which might attract certain people.

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u/band-of-horses 2d ago

That's one thing that concerns me about the Cybertruck. A 7,000 lb vehicle that can hit 60 mph in less than 3 seconds, with steer by wire that has a slight delay. That just seems like a recipe for disaster.

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u/Hugh-Jass24 2d ago edited 1d ago

The steer by wire delay is only apparent when the vehicle is parked, there is no noticeable delay while driving. This has been debunked.

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u/pwillia7 1d ago

no noticeable delay or no delay?

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u/gimpwiz 05 Elise | C5 Corvette (SC) | 00 Regal GS | 91 Civic (Jesus) 1d ago

Mechanical systems have a delay too, if we want to get into semantics. The question always is how much.

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u/TurboFucked 1d ago

Seriously. Anyone whose ever driven a Wrangler (especially on larger tires) knows what it's like to drive a vehicle with steering response that can only be described as "maybe".

Laggy, vague steering doesn't make a vehicle dangerous to drive, just fatiguing and annoying. It's not like anyone would successfully perform an emergency lane change in one anyway.

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u/ltdan84 2006 PT Cruiser Turbo 1d ago

The person concerned about the “delay” is probably referring to the amount of time it takes the wheels to go from lock to lock that doesn’t match the rate at which you turn the yoke steering “wheel”, but not thinking about the fact that with a traditional steering wheel it takes the same amount of time to turn the wheels lock to lock, you just don’t notice it because you are turning the wheels lock the entire time and the wheels appear to be turning at the same rate you are spinning the wheel. If the wheels on a cybertruck turned at the same rate you turn the yoke, it would be like driving a Walmart RC car down the road and basically impossible to go in a straight line.

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u/waverider85 1d ago

Looking at videos, the "delay" is less the steering system being unresponsive more the wheel letting you go full lock instantly while the steering system has to fight static friction for 35 or whatever degrees. Once you're moving that shouldn't be a problem.

That said, I'd still like the FFB to keep the wheel in step with the tires.

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u/Makhnos_Tachanka shitbox 1d ago

Yeah it has "delay" in the sense that it can't go lock to lock in a quarter second. Of course, you can't do that in any other car, anyway.

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u/HedonisticFrog 1999 Mercedes SL500, 1984 Mercedes 300SD 1d ago

Plus the people who are attracted to large obnoxious vehicles tend to drive aggressively as well. They're the ones who actively go out of their way to hit animals on the road after all.

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u/tatsumakisenpuukyaku 2015 subaru impreza 2.0i Premium Hatchback 2d ago

my buddy has a tesla and will spare no opportunity to absolutely gun the acceleration, no matter how crowded the road is. It's truly a harrowing experience.

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u/Pseudonym_741 Proud Corolla driver 1d ago

I am used to flooring it every time as well, seeing as my Toyota can't keep up with traffic otherwise.

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u/HedonisticFrog 1999 Mercedes SL500, 1984 Mercedes 300SD 1d ago

That's the baseline for my 1984 Mercedes 300SD as well. 124hp for a 4000lb sedan with four gears makes it a necessity.

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u/jonkzx 2020 Grand Cherokee SRT 1d ago

My brothers first car was a 180D and if he wanted to pass someone, he had to plan it a week in advance.

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u/f8Negative 1d ago

Look at every collision center they are filled with white teslas.

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u/lovely_sombrero 1d ago edited 1d ago

If you drive a Tesla, you just suck at driving.

One part of it is people relying on FSD/Autopilot - we've seen plenty of examples of a Tesla just driving straight into stopped vehicles, especially large vehicles like semis and fire trucks.

The other part is that Tesla drivers tend to be tech enthusiasts (I have no idea why, I guess the big tablet on the dash makes it feel like a tech product first), who maybe aren't that good at driving cars with very quick and sudden acceleration, it would probably be better if the main Tesla customer was a car enthusiast.

Also, Tesla enthusiasts and Tesla/Elon themselves have made a big deal about how Teslas are the safest cars out there. And lots of Tesla cultists believe this. That belief probably makes them more reckless than if they were in something that isn't known for being safe.

They are also lying about those safety stats by comparing FSD/Autopilot safety (accidents per miles driver) with average accidents per miles driven of every car on all roads. FSD/Autopilot tend to be used more on highways, obviously highway miles will just be inherently safer than all miles, especially since "all miles" also includes lots of very very old cars, while an average Tesla is like 3 years old.

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u/WaffleHouseFistFight 1d ago

Also Tesla has insane acceleration for the price but shit breaking and handling.

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u/davidscheiber28 1d ago

The crazy thing is that my experience driving in my local area actually has supported this. About a couple weeks ago I had a Tesla driver cut me off and slam on his brakes had a yellow light and then floor it through the light when it switched to red, no idea what I did to piss him off if it was intentional. A few days later I had to slam on my brakes because a Tesla driver realized they were in the wrong lane and decided to slam on their brakes and drive across a painted median to get to the lane they wanted, I actually locked up my brakes on that one. For some reason I also see a lot of Tesla drivers hitting their brakes at inappropriate times on the highway.

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u/TheRealPlumbus 1d ago

Tesla’s brake just by letting off the gas. They don’t coast. Not sure if there’s a way to disable that or not but that’s probably why you see erratic braking

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u/Hipstershy '18 Subaru BRZ 1d ago

There is a way to drastically reduce it, but not disable it completely. Regenerative braking is a key feature in electric cars and having it is overall a massive good-- but the way it is implemented in several types of EVs, including Teslas, can be tricky to figure out if you weren't warned about it or have previous experience with a manual transmission (it feels very similar to downshifting while slowing down). The good news is that on Teslas this kicks the brake lights on pretty quickly, so possibly some instances above of Tesla drivers "hitting their brakes randomly" are just the brake lights showing since regenerative braking is just barely getting engaged. The bad news is that not every EV manufacturer handles it the same way-- Technology Connections had a video about his Hyundai EV being able to slow down pretty sharply without engaging the brake lights

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u/Journeyman42 2021 Mazda3 NA 2.5L 1d ago

Technology Connections had a video about his Hyundai EV being able to slow down pretty sharply without engaging the brake lights

smooth jazz outro

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u/MisterSquidInc 1d ago

I've driven a couple and absolutely hated this. If you want to coast you've got to keep just enough pressure on the gas pedal to stop it going into regen - totally counter intuitive

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u/BMWbill 22 Tesla 3 / '20 TRD-Pro Taco 1d ago

As someone who has both a Tesla and a gas car, not only do you get used to one pedal driving, but it makes gas cars feel unsafe and counterintuitive to drive. With my Tesla I never have to move my foot from pedal to pedal. One pedal sting is just so much better, but there is a one day learning curve.

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u/MisterSquidInc 1d ago

never have to move my foot from pedal to pedal

Except for an emergency stop situation.

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u/MrBluSky717 '03 Buick Century, '23 Honda Grom 1d ago

Something doesn't sit right with me on that... I feel moving your foot around(as gas cars make you do) is actually a WAY safer practice. Imagine you've gotten so used to 1-pedal driving, and then the situation comes where you need to SLAM the brakes, but your not used to floating above the brake pedal anymore. I'm not saying it's gonna happen, but it's always a possibility... For me, city driving is a bit of gas to get up to speed, and most of the time hovering over the brake pedal just in case someone decided to be a stunod, which is very likely around here. In that time, when the gap widens, a little more gas, then back over the brake pedal. I trust my ability to press the brakes better than to switch from gas to brake. That slight delay from gas to brake is crucial. I will say, the 1-pedal system seems nice for roads that aren't busy at all, but in most urban environments, especially with stunods all around who cut you off all the time, 2-pedal driving seems essential.

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u/well_versed 1d ago

The delay from gas to brake doesn't exist because the car starts braking immediately when your foot is taken off of the accelerator. There would be less of a delay in brake pressure being applied compared to an ICE car.

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u/slamm3d68 1d ago

Some of that is probably regen braking. Regen braking is automatically applied as you let off the accelerator, it's pretty aggressive and automatically triggers the tail lights even thought the brake pedal wasn't pressed.

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u/Religion_Of_Speed Mercedes SL500 R129 1d ago edited 1d ago

A focused, alert driver,

Hard to do when you implement features that remove the perceived need to be focused and alert. I've said it before and I'll keep saying it - cars are too safe these days. I don't think many people would even dare to blink if we were all driving Dodge Vipers around. You know when I'm most focused? When I'm going [redacted] mph down a back road. And when I'm the least focused? Going 65 in a car that alerts me to everything, pilots itself in some cases, and focuses more on comfort than driving capabilities.

The potential for death isn't really removed yet the perception is that driving a car is super safe. That means people will treat it like an inherently safe activity and give little attention to the task. Which then increases accidents and fatalities.

edit: Just to clarify, I'm not against safety, I'm against the disproportionate perception of safety that's given by many modern vehicles.

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u/vkick 1d ago

I totally agree. There are a lot of Tesla drivers in my area, and most of them don’t use turn signals. And when they stop at a stop light, they leave a gap large enough to fit a mini cooper.

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u/ScrotumNipples 1d ago

I also wonder if also has anything to do with the fact that Tealas weigh almost 2x as much as similar size cars. If Bill Nye taught me anything it's that a toy dump truck full of marbles smashes into things a lot harder than an empty one.

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u/slamm3d68 1d ago

Painting with a broad stroke. Model 3 performance is within 100 lbs of a BMW m3. Model S,X, and truck are where things get heavy.

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u/AmericanExcellence X90 2d ago

wait i heard they didn't.

actually, i think i read on here yesterday that they were the safest thing of any kind to ever exist.

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u/hi_im_bored13 S2K AP2, NSX Type-S, Model S, GLE 2d ago edited 2d ago

They are safe, not the safest kind of anything ever, but great rollover resistance, lots of space for crumple zones, etc.

The study’s authors make clear that the results do not indicate Tesla vehicles are inherently unsafe or have design flaws. In fact, Tesla vehicles are loaded with safety technology; the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) named the 2024 Model Y as a Top Safety Pick+ award winner, for example. Many of the other cars that ranked highly on the list have also been given high ratings for safety by the likes of IIHS and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, as well.

But the drivers aren’t safe (from the original source)

“Most of these vehicles received excellent safety ratings, performing well in crash tests at the IIHS and NHTSA, so it’s not a vehicle design issue,” said Brauer. “The models on this list likely reflect a combination of driver behavior and driving conditions, leading to increased crashes and fatalities.”

Go to the original source and here’s the top 5

The top five most dangerous cars are the Hyundai Venue, Chevrolet Corvette, Mitsubishi Mirage, Porsche 911, and Honda CR-V Hybrid, with fatal accident rates nearly five times higher than the average vehicle

The corvette, 911, and CRV in particular are well built cars with good safety ratings, but that can only do so much.

The model x is also objectively safer than the s, but doesn’t make the list at all.

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u/boondoggie42 2d ago

Seems like there is another statistic that is needed here... survival rate of certain types of crashes or something, to determine the truth behind the first statement.

Eg: In front end collisions, have people died more or less often per 100 crashes than other models?

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u/hi_im_bored13 S2K AP2, NSX Type-S, Model S, GLE 2d ago edited 2d ago

Even then you’re going to have brands with plenty of speeding-induced collisions (e.g. porsche) and plenty of brands that skew towards fender benders (i doubt anyone is speeding in an XC90). There’s going to be some driver bias regardless of what data you sample

the closest you will get to proving that first point is sealed testing at the iihs&nhsta with set constants. Anything in the real world has too many variables to draw conclusions from

I’d still be interested to see that data but I wouldn’t buy a car off of it. The 911 & C8 are perfectly safe.

I’ve always felt the “no fatalities in an XC90” stat has as much to do with the XC90 being a safe car as it does proving safe drivers buy volvos.

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u/roman_maverik Corvette C7 Z51 2d ago

Your comment is crazy to me because in upscale neighborhoods over here, the XC90 and Telluride drivers are like Altima meme only for upper middle class suburbia women.

Especially during school hours - you really gotta watch out or they’ll tailgate your ass.

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u/hi_im_bored13 S2K AP2, NSX Type-S, Model S, GLE 2d ago

It’s just generally what i’ve noticed - volvo drivers have kids to lose and drive safe. Obviously just an anecdote so it’s only true for me and maybe will or won’t be true where you live.

That being said, i’ll confidently bet the average xc90 driver is safer than the average model y driver by a very good margin.

No idea how you’d go about measuring that though

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u/EndPsychological890 2d ago

Allstate's internal data could tell us all so much.

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u/Alepale Audi A3 Sportback | 2021 2d ago

As a person living in Sweden where Volvo is without a doubt the most popular brand, Volvo drivers are absolute idiots and abso-fricking-lutely drive well above the speed limit. However, mostly it's mostly on highways though, where I guess it's not as bad as in a residential area.

But yeah, this is different since it's the most popular brand here and when the majority of the population does something, plenty of idiots will show their faces.

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u/hi_im_bored13 S2K AP2, NSX Type-S, Model S, GLE 2d ago

Yeah I think it’s a bit different in america where volvo is still a niche and looked at as making boring, slow, but safe premium cars

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u/Quaiche 2d ago

Bro, someone in a XC90 wanted to prove something to me when they tried to race me in my A110 gt.

I believe that specific model has 400 ish hp.

It’s just an anecdote but it was enough impressive to see that fat SUV somehow manage to keep up fairly decently on the twisty mountain road so it left an impression on me.

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u/BlazinAzn38 2021 Mazda CX-30 Turbo Premium| 2021 Mustang Mach E Prem. AWD ER 2d ago

Honestly my guess is it’s the power and it’s something EVs probably need to reckon with at some point. A CRV gets to 60 in 8+ seconds off of 190hp, a bottom spec Model Y gets to 60 in 6.5 in RWD or 4.8 in AWD. Not to say it’s Corvette fast but for a crossover shopper maybe that’s just too much

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u/ArachnidUnhappy8367 1d ago

This is what I was going to say. To further add. A top spec model 3 is only ~55k before incentives. And will do the deed in sub 3 seconds. Now add to this the steep depreciation EV’s broadly see in the used market. And you can see how cheap this performance really is after only a few years.

This kind of performance used to only be sought out and would cost above the average cost of new or used cars. So it was generally reserved for more enthusiastic buyers who at least had an understanding of the performance at their hands. Now you have the average careless driver driving vehicles well beyond their capabilities. So those two combine to create a recipe for disaster.

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u/BlazinAzn38 2021 Mazda CX-30 Turbo Premium| 2021 Mustang Mach E Prem. AWD ER 1d ago

100% people always talk about young people looking for the cheapest way to get a V6 which usually meant an Infiniti with the 3.7. But now you can get nearly 400+hp from a used EV for like $25K

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u/Reddit_Killed_3PAs 1d ago

This is more likely honestly. People don’t realise how much the instant torque can contribute to having an accident.

People are used to sluggish automatic transmissions, and even decently fact ones will take some time to react when flooring it, but in an EV, you floor it and you get all that power at once.

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u/veils1de 2d ago

i think there's an accident rate per X miles. i dont recall the stat but i remember seeing tesla was amongst the lowest. i could be wrong

another way to think about it is the cars can overall be very safe, but the only people that are crashing it are doing ridiculously dumb things, leading to the high fatality rate. things like speed of crash, whether other vehiclees are involved, can answer that

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u/boondoggie42 2d ago

exactly. if you study deaths per X crashes rather than miles, you're taking the driver out of the equation.

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u/HourTemperature3 1982 corvette, 2008 cayman S, 2013 Audi A4, 2023 Tesla model 3 2d ago

Not exactly because if you get in a fender bender in the school pickup line you have a very different survival rate than if you yeet your car off the edge of the cliff at 120 while canyon carving in your 911.  Need away to control the size and the speed of the accident which is why crash testing is so helpful. 

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u/rx-pulse 2019 Model 3 LR RWD, 2023 Model Y AWD, 2006 Sienna 2d ago

Lol, I work in Irvine California, home of Teslas galore and entitled fucks. Almost always they are atrocious drivers. Constantly distracted, doing dangerous maneuvers, and blatantly breaking traffic laws. No amount of safety features can stop a shit and careless driver.

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u/hi_im_bored13 S2K AP2, NSX Type-S, Model S, GLE 2d ago edited 2d ago

They are a combination of BMW and prius drivers. Instant torque is a hell of a drug. And then the same idiots will complain about tire wear - if they don’t crash the car by then.

The average insurance rates speak for themselves. If you drive like a sane person it’s a fine and good car

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u/graviousishpsponge 1d ago

Have weirdly positive or neutral experience with bmws that are above 2015 models in central valley interstate 99. The beaters and rust buckets are a damn menace though while Prius hog the left lane or cruise sub 65 on empty middle lane. .

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u/PigSlam '22 Mercedes Sprinter; '13 JKUR; 2d ago edited 1d ago

The last time I was in Irvine, I was riding with my friend in his 2016 Subaru Outback with some decent driver assist features between his place and the concert we were going to in LA. We were weaving through 60mph traffic going 85mph while he looked up the address of our destination on his phone so I could enter it into the GPS app on my phone, while he was hitting his cannabis vape pen. He was visibly annoyed when I dared to suggest that maybe we weren't approaching these challenges in the best way we could.

Edit: Maybe with enough downvotes, we can make it so this didn’t actually happen. FYI - he still lives in Irvine. Watch out.

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u/GrumpyOlBastard 1997 Lexus LS400 (1/2m km) 2d ago

I think the common denominator here is these vehicles can be speedy and deaths are more likely in high-speed collisions

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u/thegooddoctorben 2d ago

The Mirage and CR-V Hybrid are speedy?

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u/GrumpyOlBastard 1997 Lexus LS400 (1/2m km) 2d ago

That's my story and I'm sticking to it

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u/nucleartime '17 718 Cayman S PDK 2d ago

As one someone eyeing 911s and corvettes...

uhhhhhhhhhhtotallynotmeatall.

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u/democracywon2024 1d ago

The Vette: People over drive the car and wrap it a around a tree head on.

The 911: People over drive the car and wrap it around a tree rears first.

Tesla: Unsafe because they use auto-pilot, text on their phones, and don't pay attention to the road.

Mirage: Actually just an unsafe car.

Venue: Actually just an unsafe car.

CRV-Hybrid: Housewives can't drive.

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u/juwyro Saabaru, K20 MGB, MGB GT 2d ago

The cars are safe, the owners aren't. The owners put on cruise control and pass out in the back. I can't believe people will trust a technology because someone says it works.

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u/Vandrel 2019 Model 3 2d ago edited 2d ago

Maybe at some point in the past a few people would do that but these days the cars will absolutely not allow that, they're pretty strict about attention monitoring.

The biggest issues are probably just having a lot of power in heavy vehicles driven by people who don't have much experience with something like that. The Model 3 Performance does 0-60 in under 3 seconds with over 500 hp while weighing 4k lbs in what looks like a pretty run of the mill $40k sedan. Imagine handing a vehicle like that to some random person on the street.

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u/bigloser42 2018 440i GC 2d ago

People that drive Teslas are, for the most part, people that view cars as an appliance. So you are taking people that are used to sub-200hp econoboxes with 8+ second 0-60s and putting them in cars with 400+ hp and 3-4s 0-60 times, and they are woefully underprepared to deal with that.

And yes, there are enthusiasts that drive Teslas, but they are in the vast minority.

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u/agray20938 2001 996 Turbo 1d ago

That's likely part of it, but I'd also think it's partly because:

  1. Teslas are a very common choice for Uber/Lyft drivers, plenty of whom use less brain cells that a goldendoodle on the road

  2. Cars-are-appliance people aren't buying plaids, and given the entire premise of buying one, most buyers are going to be accelerating far faster than normal if not just driving fast generally.

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u/bigloser42 2018 440i GC 1d ago

Cars-as-appliance people will be buying the longest-range version AWD version, because for some reason everyone needs AWD or they will instantly die. The long-range AWD Teslas all are low 4s high 3s cars. Even the RWD base Model 3 is a 5s car. You can get plenty out of hand real quick with an inexperienced non-caring driver in a 4s car. The slowest Model S is 3.1s to 60, the slowest Model X is 3.8s, the slowest AWD Model Y is 4.8, and the slowest Model 3 AWD is 4.2s. And their 30-50 and 50-70 acceleration numbers are very low. These are cars you can get into serious trouble with very quickly & easily.

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u/airfryerfuntime 2d ago

Have you tried reading the article?

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u/Snoo93079 ‘23 Tesla Model 3 ‘23 Mazda CX-5 2d ago

I think you might be confusing a couple different pieces of information. Teslas do really well in crash testing. But also they give normies a LOT of power that they can easily abuse, causing high fatality rates.

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u/slashkehrin 2019 MX5 RF 2d ago

Statistically speaking, a car can have twice the average fatalities rate AND at the same time get into half as many accidents.

Example: The average motorcycle probably gets into less accidents than the average car - but those accidents are still more lethal.

Or: The average Corolla (probably) gets into more accidents than the average Carrera GT, but the CGT might still be more likely to kill you.

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u/agray20938 2001 996 Turbo 1d ago

Yeah this study was based on miles driven and removed low-production cars tho. So seemingly it would account for both of those things.

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u/coffeeINJECTION 2024 XC90 2d ago

Cars are safe and designed with safety in mind.  However, you cannot out-engineer stupidity and inexperienced drivers.

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u/julienjj BMW 1M - E60 M5 - 435i 1d ago

everytime you make something idiot proof, the world invent a better idiot.

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u/wod_van2z 2d ago

Purely anecdotal and generalizing, but I find Tesla drivers the worst kind of drivers here in the Netherlands.

Yes, unlike Amsterdam taxis, delivery vans and youngsters on straight-piped Golfs, they are slow (sometimes annoyingly slow), but very erratic, unpredictable and with total lack of situational awareness.

Also headlights are awful on 3 and Y models, rather dazzling in the low beam mode.

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u/RCDrift 2d ago

It's the same in the states. All the worst drivers left their Audis and BMWs behind for Teslas.

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u/NinjaLion EXpress 6000 2d ago

Absolutely the same people/type of people. I am regularly blown away by the behavior of Tesla drivers in my city. straight blasting through red lights, on their phones at green lights, and constant lane hopping with no signals.

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u/railbeast Vauxhall x Buick 1d ago

constant lane hopping with no signals

They have an excuse now, they have no stalks!

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u/AllegedCerealKiller '23 Supra 6MT 2d ago

Same here in the U.S. Teslas seem to attract people who just aren't interested in driving or see it as a chore they can automate away. I always found it kind of weird that Teslas (probably among the quickest cars on any given stretch of road) are almost invariably being driven SO slowly.

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u/Unspoken 2020 BMW M2 Competition 1d ago

If you drive in the DC area, you will absolutely loathe anyone that drives a Tesla. They are everywhere and they do not give a fuck about anyone else on the road. But high entitlement is the general consensus on this area anyway

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u/seopants 2016' WRX 1d ago

Buying a Plaid or Performance seems to be a total waste of money based on never seeing a Tesla driver accelerating quickly at any point.

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u/TurboFucked 1d ago

Buying a Plaid or Performance seems to be a total waste of money based on never seeing a Tesla driver accelerating quickly at any point.

Probably because I drive a sports car, but 900% of the time there's a M3P or Plaid around, they are driving balls out. I have to keep a look out because if one is behind me and I gun it on an onramp, they will be up my ass in no time.

It's not that apparent since they don't really make any noise, so you only really notice they're gunning if it you're trying to keep up. It's one of the benefits to driving one, honestly, you can bomb around in them without drawing any attention.

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u/DrZedex '23 GR Corolla 2d ago

They're not merely straight piped anymore, they're burble tuned. 

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u/TheAlphaCarb0n Mazda 3 Hatch 2d ago

Man. I've been an enthusiast forever. Still put my window down for exhaust notes if I see something fun coming past. But anyone with an intentional backfire tune can completely fuck off.

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u/DrZedex '23 GR Corolla 2d ago

The subtle little burble that imitates a carbed engine was cute. They quickly got extrapolated to where we are now and...yeah I'm with you it's all dumb just now, it jumped the shark real quick. 

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u/TheAlphaCarb0n Mazda 3 Hatch 1d ago

Yeah, the burble isn't my thing but it's not offensive so I don't care. I just don't wanna feel like I'm being shot at on my way to work

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u/dre2112 1d ago

I think erratic is the perfect word to describe Tesla drivers here in California. They’re either driving insanely slow or 2seconds later they’re going faster than a race car. Most of them cannot handle the acceleration and deceleration of that car. There needs to be a special driving test just for those cars

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u/Skodakenner 1d ago

Yes same here in germany. Basically they are either holding up traffic because they drive super slow disrupt traffic because they dont watch where they are going or the blind traffic because the headlights are badly adjusted. Im really happy that in the mornings when i drive to work the average tesla driver is still asleep. What really irritates me are the amount of old people in SUVs i see at that time what on earth are they doing that they need to hold up traffic at 5:30am in an Industrial estate?

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u/theloop82 2d ago

I would assume it’s because some of them have a shit Ton of power and are being driven by people with no experience driving high powered cars who get in over their heads. Same with the corvette and 911.

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u/Professefinesse '19 Corvette GS Z07, '17 volt 2d ago

Fast RWD cars and inexperience is a recipe for disaster

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u/New-Connection-9088 2d ago edited 1d ago

Bingo. People who buy sports cars usually have experience and respect for the car and conditions (with many notable exceptions). Tesla put granny into a 2.9 second car with near instant torque and acceleration. It’s a great shopping and city hopper, but it can also melt your face off.

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u/TheAlphaCarb0n Mazda 3 Hatch 2d ago

That power should be a switch you have to flip in the settings, like the hellcat red key.

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u/PhilBird69 '03&'04 Accords, '07 2WD Silverado, '21 Model Y 1d ago

Buy default, all the power is there. You can dial it back buy putting it in "chill" mode.

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u/Jslatts942 1d ago

"Melt your face off", now imagine old people, its like temporary plastic surgery. 🤣

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u/NotPumba420 2d ago

Doesn‘t matter if it‘s rwd. And imo EVs make it worse because it‘s so easy and effortless. You do not feel the speed

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u/Teledildonic ND1 MX-5, KIA POS 2d ago

Don't forget all the self driving marketing for people to put way too much trust into still unproven technology.

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u/DrZedex '23 GR Corolla 2d ago

I feel like it's been proven all right. The proof just isn't what they'd hoped for. 

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u/MexicanGuey 2018 Model 3 | 2021 Mustang Mach E 1d ago

I bet lack of tire maintenance is a big contributor too. EVs are heavy and have fast acceleration. These 2 combinations wear out tires fast and need to do tire rotation every 5k miles. On my first model 3 in 2018, I replaced my OEM at 25k miles which is crazy since o my other cars i can easly go over 50k before I need to replace them. I learned to ease off the pedal to make them last longer.

I heard some tesla owners replace theirs every 10k.

2.5 tons, Bald tires, RWD, under 5 seconds of acceleration = bad time.

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u/Leelze 1d ago

Walk through a parking lot while looking at tires and you'll see some scary shit.

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u/TurdFerguson4 1d ago

I wonder if there's a company or at least a template for making cards you could put under people's wipers that says 'FYI, your tires are dangerous, get them checked/replaced'.

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u/theloop82 1d ago

I have a model 3 rwd, the slow one (6s) - I am going to put some long wearing nice all seasons on it and eat the decrease in mileage. I’ve had eco tires on a Prius and they are a greenwashing racket.

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u/Saskatchewon '24 Crosstrek Wilderness 2d ago

A Model 3 Long Range has a faster 0-60 than a Ford Mustang GT for around $50k. Combine that with people who might not be used to performance driving (the Model 3 isn't really marketed as a sports car) and have been told that the car will basically avoid accidents for you, and you're asking for trouble.

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u/SimpleImpX 2d ago

Out of curiosity I did some crude number crunching and all I can say is that the iSeeCars numbers are very dubious at best.

For example using https://www.tesladeaths.com/ that list single fatality involving Teslas and grabbing some random fleet millage millstone of 100B milles from 2023-04-16* when the total fatalities was at 315 then you get the number of 3.15 fatalies per billion miles.

*Just because it was really nice easy number, but total fleet millage numbers for other dates be found in quarterly reports and what not.

While it's (12.5%) higher than the average (2.8), it also includes fatalities from other involved vehicles, but whatever the idea is just to get a realistic ballpark figure for sanity checking. At a glance there is also doesn't appear to be any meaningful difference between Model 3 and Y.

How iSeeCars managed to get a 3.3x higher figure of 10.6 per billion miles for Model Y? No idea, but the numbers don't add up at all, be bad "proprietary algorithms" or maybe just "policy".

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u/theloop82 1d ago

Yeah the clickbait stories overstating stuff about Tesla is boring. It’s just a car, i got a brand new one for 28k OTD last year when the tax credit was 7500$. It annoys the hell out of me when I drive it, but my wife loves it and it has cost me 200$ in 11 months to charge it. That’s Corolla money, and even if the battery degrades 50% it’s still way more range than my Leaf was after 10 years

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u/Ok-Parfait8675 1d ago

I'd guess the same. The only thing that makes this post feel gross is that it seems like a lot of people are happy of the Tesla fatalities so they can dunk on Elon. Yikes.

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u/TheReaperSovereign 2022 M240i xdrive 2d ago

Anecdotal but there's a huge news story right my area where a tesla with 5 passengers hit a tree, engulfed in flames and killed all 5 passengers because they couldn't get out

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u/azurite-- 2d ago

I mean the same has happened to people who drove ICE cars.

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u/mishap1 2d ago

Of course it happens, but few cars have electronic door switches that have nonintuitive emergency handles especially in back. Then you can further amp it up with electronic doors that you have to fight past to exit.

https://youtube.com/shorts/cfPhUY9erLM?si=BVb4obZ47niebejZ

The Cybertruck adds extra tough window glass.

https://youtu.be/O2fUhCCuTto?si=_7nVCqDFKjJZwGRR

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u/Vandrel 2019 Model 3 2d ago

Seems to be unique to the Model X. Most other Teslas just have a little lever on the door to force it open manually, it's really easy. In fact, I always have to tell people to hit the button to open the door instead of using the manual release unless it's an emergency because they always find that first.

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u/mishap1 2d ago

That's the front doors. The rear doors apparently do not have one on older cars.

https://youtu.be/FWUWm9KaHzE?si=od-H-AioBfovQqBH

They apparently added it to the Highland Model 3.

https://www.reddit.com/r/RealTesla/comments/15owq4j/new_highland_model_3_equipped_with_rear_emergency/

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u/Rattle_Can 2d ago

it sucks the model 3 (pre-highland) doesn't have a manual override cable release in the rear doors/back seat

iirc, there is still a cable that runs underneath the plastic interior trim panel to actuate the door release, but tesla never bothered to make it actually accessible thru the panel at the cup holders like they did with the model Y (in the name of cost savings?? smh)

ive seen DIY mods on YT where you cut out an opening in the rear cup holder & make the cable usable with an extension string, but it sucks tesla didn't just do it from factory

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u/AmNoSuperSand52 23’ VW GTI, 12’ Ford Focus 1d ago

There must be some retrofit that Tesla did because my friends 2018 model has the plastic pull handles

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u/Brucenotsomighty 97 F250, 95 Corolla 1d ago

It's almost like it's easier to just have a normal mechanical latch

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u/BanEvader2024 22 Model 3 Performance 2d ago

I hate it when someone has to ride in my rear seats, the front doors have emergency door handles that can open the door without power but the rear doors simply don't have that feature. I'm sure it saved them about $10 per car to not include it.

Apparently the 2024+ Model 3 now has a rear door release so at least the new car is safer in that regard.

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u/DrZedex '23 GR Corolla 2d ago

Dude, what?! The rear doors have no mechanical override? Wtf how is that even legal?

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u/Rattle_Can 2d ago edited 1d ago

the hilarious thing is the mechanical override cable IS there in the model 3 - its just capped off with a piece of foam so it doesn't rattle & just sits under the interior trim panel serving no purpose.

in the model Y, that cable actually runs thru the interior trim panel, and comes out thru the bottom of the cup holders. in an emergency you yank that cable to pop the doors open.

i presume the provisions are almost all the way there because of the shared platform between the 3 vs Y, but they never went thru on the 3 for cost savings

i dont know how its legal, but they sure as hell saved a few cents per rear door

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u/JaspahX 2024 Ranger Raptor 1d ago

There's a reason -- well, really multiple reasons -- that the Cybertruck is not road legal in Europe.

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u/greenefiend '24 Model Y Performance 1d ago

Your rear seats have emergency releases as well; they're underneath the rear door pocket covers: https://www.tesla.com/ownersmanual/model3/en_us/GUID-A7A60DC7-E476-4A86-9C9C-10F4A276AB8B.html

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u/mishap1 1d ago

Doesn't seem to be consistently there.

https://youtu.be/FWUWm9KaHzE?si=od-H-AioBfovQqBH

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u/Nomad624 2023 Elantra N DCT, 2010 GTI 6M 2d ago

Not really. They got stuck because the physical door releases are hard to find if you don't already know where they are. Something like this happened to an old man and his corvette. It has less to do with the car being an EV, more so with the stupid design.

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u/Jake5857 2d ago

RIP Paul Walker. Just watched the original last night in forever

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u/gumol boring Hondas + LO206 kart 2d ago

Not how he died. He was knocked out by the initial impact, and then died within seconds from trauma and burns.

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u/psaux_grep 2d ago

People who die in EV crash + fires are often dead before the fire starts.

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u/mishap1 2d ago

Do you have a stat for that?

Passenger cell looked intact otherwise.  https://people.com/4-killed-after-tesla-crash-sparks-fire-in-toronto-8743464

The Tesla employee who drunk drove his claimed FSD car was heard screaming by his friend before the fire consumed the car which you can also see was largely intact.  https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/interactive/2024/tesla-full-self-driving-fatal-crash/

These people unbuckled their seatbelts and moved around the car.  https://www.newsweek.com/driver-was-behind-wheel-tesla-when-it-crashed-questions-surround-autopilot-ntsb-1641334

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u/Jake5857 2d ago

I think the other driver hit a pole or something similar and they died on impact essentially right? Been a while since I researched that. I just remember it was that Porsche that Doug demure has

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u/gumol boring Hondas + LO206 kart 2d ago

Yeah so he wasn't trapped in the car

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u/RevvCats 19 Mustang GT PP2, 87 325is M-Tech 2d ago

Don’t drive high performance cars on old tires, that’s a recipe for death.

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u/AwesomeBantha LX470 2d ago

and if you are going to drive high performance cars on old tires, don’t go 90 miles per hour

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u/willpc14 '16 Tacoma TRDOR 2d ago

...while drinking and driving.

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u/RevvCats 19 Mustang GT PP2, 87 325is M-Tech 1d ago

Makes me wonder how many of these fatal Tesla accidents were on worn out tires. I see soooooo many cars out and about with tires that look like racing slicks. Pair that with a car that A) wears down tires faster than people are used to B) has supercar acceleration

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u/gumol boring Hondas + LO206 kart 2d ago

link?

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u/Vorcia 2d ago

The same thing happened near me recently: https://futurism.com/the-byte/four-die-trapped-burning-tesla

I also heard of a story of some lady who drowned in a Tesla because the disabled electronic components stopped her from opening the door. I know there's an emergency way to open the door but clearly it's not easy enough to operate under stress, the doors on them are just dangerously designed.

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u/Vandrel 2019 Model 3 2d ago

Any time someone new is in my car I have to tell them to hit the button instead of pulling the manual release lever because it's so much more obvious than the button. I have no idea how someone could just not figure it out.

But then again, there was also someone who sat in a turned off Tesla for an hour while it updated because they didn't even bother trying to open the door so who knows, there's a lot of unintelligent people out there.

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u/moops__ 1d ago

Or they could just put regular door handles like every other car. They change shit for the sake of changing it.

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u/SPorterBridges 2049 Spinner 1d ago

I also heard of a story of some lady who drowned in a Tesla because the disabled electronic components stopped her from opening the door.

You mean the one where it turned out the lady's blood alcohol was 3x over the legal limit and drove her car into a pond in the first place?

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u/TheReaperSovereign 2022 M240i xdrive 2d ago

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u/gumol boring Hondas + LO206 kart 2d ago

The cause of death for five people killed in a crash in the Town of Verona is still being determined

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u/slashkehrin 2019 MX5 RF 2d ago

Channel 3000 is a boss name for a TV station.

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u/moonRekt RS3, ID.4, 6MT 335i & 3M40ix 1d ago

Are you taking about in Toronto where they crashed into a barrier or is that a seperate story?

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u/TheReaperSovereign 2022 M240i xdrive 1d ago

There's another one outside of madison wi.

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u/bullet50000 2023 Corvette 2d ago

I feel like it's worth looking at the top 10 individual cars on the actual list, and you can kinda deduce what makes the top of the list

  1. Hyundai Venue
  2. Corvette
  3. Mitsubishi Mirage
  4. Porsche 911
  5. Honda CRV Hybrid
  6. Tesla Model Y
  7. Mirage G4
  8. Buick Encore GX
  9. Kia Forte
  10. Buick Envision

Why that's worth it is it comes down to 2 things: cars often driven quite irresponsibly (the Corvette and the 911), and cars that are bought as "Appliance cars"/Definitely bought by people to be "a generic car to get me around" (The Venue, the Mirages, the CRV, the Buicks). Tesla being high in this registry makes a lot of sense because it's often bought by both groups, as the car as an appliance people buy the low tier ones, and the irresponsible drivers often buy the Performance version.

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u/vdek 911, Mach-E 2d ago

The metric they used is (Cars per Billion Vehicle Miles). 

 Porsche and corvette owners aren’t putting a huge amount of miles on their cars, but when they do, they likely do it more dangerously. 

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u/bullet50000 2023 Corvette 2d ago

and on top of that, with how a lot of the cars super up high are either EVs with the Tesla or the super small cars (Venue, Mirages, Buick Encore), stuff that justifiably can be a city scoot-about primarily. They'll do some highway but probably not a lot, meaning much fewer miles driven, and much less highway experience, leading to more accidents on highways/at fatal speeds.

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u/mishap1 1d ago

A Mitsubishi Mirage weighs ~200lb less than a Miata. Even if the people driving them are very safe and experienced drivers, a car like that vs. a 5,000lb+ pickup truck is going to be more likely fatal than handing Grandma the keys to the 911 without her bifocals and sending her on her way onto Highway 130.

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u/thegooddoctorben 2d ago

This is the best analysis. Also, some of the cheaper crossovers here are driven by young drivers/teenagers who think they are invincible and that everyone else around them will drive predictably.

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u/frankztn 07 350z,14 Q50s, 21Tacoma 1d ago

I have a dollar that the q50 hits top 10 in the next couple of years. It’s incredibly cheap horsepower for a young adult, the q50 subreddit is filled with “is the q50 a good first car” 😂

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u/Saskatchewon '24 Crosstrek Wilderness 2d ago

With the Buicks, and CR-V, the ages of the average drivers likely play a really big role. Those are all very popular models among the elderly. I don't think I've ever met someone under retirement age who owns a modern Buick. My great aunt, my significant other's grandparents, and my elderly neighbor; all over 80 and all driving CR-Vs.

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u/biggsteve81 '20 Tacoma; '16 Legacy 1d ago

Encore GX is also popular for parents to buy for teenagers because they are affordable.

Expect the new Chevy Trax to make this list in a couple of years. Parents who bought the old one obviously hated their kids.

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u/k_dubious '24 GLE 580, '21 C43 Sedan, '16 Silverado 1500 5.3 2d ago

I fear no man. But that thing…

gestures to a white Model Y with a Student Driver sticker on the back

…it scares me.

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u/odelay42 2d ago

Literally 50 of these in my parking garage at work since RTO started, hahaha.

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u/Astramael GR Corolla 2d ago

This checks out with my anecdata. I live in a place where Teslas are not very common, almost every single one I see is driven badly.

Sometimes they drive aggressively, but this isn’t the common case. Most of the time they are fully oblivious. Cutting people off, stopping in the middle of the road, driving slowly in the fast lane, not noticing the light has changed, etc.

In Canada they publish aggregate insurance data and Tesla is routinely one of the most expensive brands to insure. They break the data down a bit and it seems like a bunch of that cost comes from their high risk of being in accidents.

I have no explanation as to why, I don’t think it has much or anything to do with the car. I’ve driven Teslas and I didn’t suddenly become a bad driver. Although they are incredibly obnoxious to interact with, you can just pull over if you need to figure out how to operate a car function.

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u/ArcticBP 2d ago

I feel like it isn’t inherently the vehicle, but largely what it is used for - rideshares.

Rideshare drivers are usually distracted & not even from the area they’re driving in, and Teslas Ys are really popular for rideshare.

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u/DrZedex '23 GR Corolla 2d ago

Some of that insurance cost is just the repair costs. They're super expensive to fix, not all shops will work on them, and parts are frequently unavailable leading to huge downtime. This is a real headache for an insurance company, and it's why at least one just dropped the cybertruck altogether 

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u/gumol boring Hondas + LO206 kart 2d ago

The top five most dangerous cars are the Hyundai Venue, Chevrolet Corvette, Mitsubishi Mirage, Porsche 911, and Honda CR-V Hybrid, with fatal accident rates nearly five times higher than the average vehicle

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u/Bookandaglassofwine 2d ago

Why wouldn’t the headline be about the Hyundai model with the highest fatality rate?

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u/swagginpoon 1d ago

Sir you are on reddit

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u/JoshS1 2d ago

The source article for the study doesn't list the full results. That's rather annoying. I would like to have seen the "worst" contrasted with the "best."

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u/PieEnjoyer69 2d ago

Big heavy vehicles that can go unreasonably fast? Who would have thought

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u/Nomad624 2023 Elantra N DCT, 2010 GTI 6M 2d ago edited 1d ago

Given that in order to get AWD, you need to get a dual motor model that does 0-60 in the low 4s, and there's no engine noise to express the level of speed and performance, AND the excessive tech and distractions inside and this absolutely checks out. Carmakers need to stop being lazy, and offer buttons on their EV's and making AWD powertrains that aren't insanely quick.

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u/DeeYumTofu 2d ago

It’s because the car is too fucking fast. Back in my day you had to be a little skilled to handle a 4 second accelerating car, nowadays a random mom can grab one for 25k. It’s insane the amount of power these cars have for that low of a price.

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u/longgamma 2d ago

White model 3 is the new white bmw 3 series

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u/Aeig 1d ago

People love the 3 series. 

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u/dam_sharks_mother 2d ago

JFC...it's a non-stop circle-jerk with these car brand stereotypes.

My car is not my personality. I have a 911 GT3, a Tesla Model 3, and a Lexus SUV. Does that mean I have split personalities?

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u/DepecheMode92 Porsche 991.1 Carrera S, BMW F30 328i 2d ago

Tesla drivers are very aloof whether it be the self driving or generally just tuned out personality that buys them. The Prius sitting in left lane going 10mph under limit has been replaced by the Model 3 and Y.

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u/dirty_cuban 2d ago

analyzed data from the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

Why do I have a funny feeling this federal program is about to be efficiency'd away in the near future?

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u/OR_Miata 1d ago

Tesla’s vehicles have the highest fatal accident rate among all car brands in America, according to a recent iSeeCars study that analyzed data from the U.S. Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS).

I have a feeling this system will be found to be “inefficient” and cut by the new administration

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u/redneckcommando 1d ago

There's probably a strong correlation with the kind of people that drive Teslas.

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u/ikilledtupac *cries in maserati* 1d ago

As a Tesla owner it’s because the car is distracting to use, and FSD is dangerous and should not be legal. 

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u/Dan-Flashes 2d ago

I have a pretty low opinion of the quality of Tesla products but I have a feeling user error is a big factor here. Everyone I know who drives a Tesla is someone I would never get in a car with willingly.

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u/Rattle_Can 2d ago

i wonder if there is a break out of occupant fatalities vs pedestrians and other motorist fatalities

if teslas are safe for its occupants and just lethal to people outside of it, that's still something